How to Become Your Boss’s Favorite

Your manager has a huge impact on day-to-day quality of life at work. If your manager likes and trusts you, chances are that you’re going to find your work life more pleasant and fulfilling, and you’ll probably advance more quickly, too. On the other hand, if your manager doesn’t like you, consequences can range from daily tension to bad assignments to even being pushed out of your job.

While you won’t click with every manager out there, here are seven things you can do that will significantly improve your relationship with the vast majority of managers – and will make you the beloved favorite of many of them.

1. Think like a consultant

Quite understandably, employees tend to personalize their relationships with their manager, the feedback they receive, whether their suggestions are used, and generally how a manager responds to them. Consultants – who have clients instead of bosses – tend to have an easier job of approaching clients from a more emotionally detached place. Try approaching your work like a consultant, which means, for example, responding to critical feedback in the same way you would respond to a problem that didn’t feel highly personal and emotionally charged (presumably by gathering information and collaboratively problem-solving).